Old news, but why not get this thread started anyway. I've heard that Avatar 2 is slated for December 2014 and Avatar 3 for December 2015. It's a long ways off, but we will have the novels to keep us busy in the meantime, which I'm actually looking forward to reading.

I just hope this doesn't become a major Meh. I believe he's avoided sequels for a reason. With our recent discussion on Jurrassic Park, each one less anticipated. By the time he makes them and then release them, people may have moved on.

Cameron knows what he is doing. This is his baby and not a creation of someone else. I am not worried. They only thing I'd like to see tighten up with the series is the story. It was a little too "simplistic" in Avatar. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't at the level of Terminator 2 or Aliens. But since he has gotten the setup of the universe and characters out of the way, he is now free to expand the story and go in a different direction and take chances with it. I'm confident he will succeed in every facet from here on out.

Yesterday’s news that James Cameron has hired Black Dahlia screenwriter Josh Friedman to work on Avatar 2 with him was apparently just the tip of the iceberg lurking in Pandora’s oceans (assuming Pandora’s oceans have cold enough zones for icebergs, which remains to be seen). Regardless, Cameron has now made good on his statement of May last year about being the Avatar business, confirming he’ll make Avatar 2, 3 and 4 ready for release in a year apart from 2016 onwards.

It appears that spending time in New Zealand working on the stories has allowed some of Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings spirit to creep into Cameron's already workaholic brain. Now Cameron and 20th Century Fox have gone public with the announcement that, in addition to Friedman, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver and Savages scribe Shane Salerno will each take co-scribbling duties on the three new trips to Pandora. Salerno has form collaborating with Cameron, as he worked on the as-yet-unmade new version of Fantastic Voyage.

“Building upon the world we created with Avatar has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience. In writing the new films, I’ve come to realize that Avatar’s world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and it became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen," says Cameron. "And to help me continue to expand this universe, I’m pleased to bring aboard Amanda, Rick, Shane and Josh – all writers I’ve long admired – to join me in completing the films’ screenplays.”

The current production plan is for Cameron to go full Jackson and shoot all three simultaneously starting next year, with each writer (or writers in Jaffa and Silver’s case) working on one script. As for release? Expect Avatar 2 in December 2016, followed by the third in 2017 and the fourth in, you guessed it, 2018. Sound off as to whether this makes you thrilled or gives you a serious case of the movie blues…

Was not expecting to hear news of a 4th installment. I've just gotten use to the idea of expecting Trilogies. So, this makes me think that if the next 3 are successful financially and there is no indication they won't be, Quadrilogy may become the new 'Trilogy" in the future. Don't laugh, if Studio's have it their way, they will want to market all of their Tent-pole franchises as such.

Well, we finally have a bunch of release dates. But that isn't what I really want to talk about. I want to talk about a Studio that is going all in, betting big with 4 sequels. That's a lot of f*cking money to bet on a movie/franchise that could basically be a fluke. Because so much time has passed and the crowd that made the first one the huge success it became, they most likely have moved on to other things. So, I think this is a huge g a m b l e . It may pay off, and it may not. We shall see...........